1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a lightweight hose, and more specifically, to a hose constructed from a lightweight material and having a reinforcing material formed therein. In addition, the invention also relates to a method for forming a hose according to the invention.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to employ a hose to provide a conduit through which fluids under various degrees of pressure can flow. Typically, the hose is connected at one end to a source of the fluid, and at an opposite end to a particular destination to which the fluid is to be delivered. In some vehicle applications, such as in vehicle engines or vehicle air conditioning systems in the aircraft industry, the weight of all components, including any hoses, is critical and must be minimized without sacrificing the structural integrity thereof.
Hoses for lightweight applications are typically made of silicone, urethane and/or polyether sulphone. It has been known to provide such hoses with more than one layer, or "ply," to increase the structural stability of the hose. However, these hoses typically require additional plies to be adhesively bonded to one another or vulcanized to ensure that the plies of the hose are securely mounted together. The manufacturing process is labor intensive and costly. Also, multiple plies of the above materials tend to add significant weight to hoses which, in turn, add weight to the system in which the hoses are installed.
It is known to manufacture lightweight hoses on a mandrel of finite length. A first ply of material is wrapped around the mandrel and then additional plies are added, usually with an adhesive between adjacent plies. The hose is then typically vulcanized to complete the process. Currently, hoses are typically of a relatively short finite length, limited by the longitudinal length of the mandrel. In addition, these hoses are relatively heavy and can require several plies of material and/or relatively thick plies of material to ensure their structural integrity.